


Best of Friends

by mckinlily



Series: And Then There Was More [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Chat is a precious sunbeam, F/M, Ladybug is confused, Marinette's Blue Eyed Look of Doom TM, fluff and a little bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-14
Updated: 2016-11-14
Packaged: 2018-08-30 22:35:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8551843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mckinlily/pseuds/mckinlily
Summary: Chat Noir tells Ladybug about one of his best friends. It's not who she expects.





	

Ladybug and Chat Noir had been “patroling” which really meant playing a superhero version of tag. After several laughter-filled minutes, Chat had _finally_ managed to catch Ladybug around the waist and send them both rolling down a roof. Ladybug had her face squished in a rain gutter, Chat’s weight on top of her, when she heard Chat gasp.

“Hey, I know where we are.”

“Get off me, you fat cat,” said Ladybug.

Instead of getting off, Chat rolled onto his back, wiggling on top of her. “Noooo….. You called me _faaattttt_ ….”

Ladybug twisted around enough to pinch Chat in neck. He yelped and fell off the roof, just catching himself by fingertips. Ladybug, the picture of maturity, stuck her tongue out at him and pulled her face out of the gutter, rubbing her cheek. “So what’s so special about this place?”

Chat pulled himself back onto the roof beside her. “My friend lives right there.” Ladybug looked up.

And blinked.

They were exactly across the street from her parents’ bakery. She could see the blanket she’d left on the balcony last night fluttering slightly in the breeze.

“Uh, you mean down the street?” said Ladybug carefully.

“Nope,” said Chat. “She lives right there, on top of the bakery.”

“Uh, that’s cool.” That was a normal thing to say, right? She was acting normal, wasn’t she? Surely Chat wasn’t talking about _her_?

“Yeah,” said Chat. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She’s one of my best friends.”

What what _what_?

“H-how do you know her?”

Chat shrugged. “She goes to my school. She’s really nice.” He flashed Ladybug a smile. “I think you’d like her. She’s – she’s got this _spark_. Always wants to help people, always running a hundred miles a minute. She has these goals and nothing will ever stop her. Wants to be a fashion designer.”

“She does?” squeaked Ladybug.

“Uh-huh. I’ve seen some of her sketches. They’re amazing. And she’s so crafty. I swear Marinette can make _anything_.”

The admiration with which Chat spoke could be nothing but genuine and he was talking about her. _Her_. Chat had to know her as Marinette, and yet Ladybug couldn’t for the life of her think of a boy she knew who might be Chat.

“You—Wait, did you say she was one of your _best_ friends?”

“Well, yeah,” said Chat.

_What??_

“So…are you two really close, then?” she prompted, still trying to figure out how on _earth_ she could be friends with civilian Chat and not know.

Chat looked down. “Not exactly,” he muttered.

Sensing the edge of a sensitive subject, Ladybug stilled.

Chat caught her eye and smiled a little. “I guess we don’t actually talk that much,” he admitted. “But when I missed school for, uh, stuff she lent me her notes. And she notices things, you know? Like, once I was having an off day and I thought no one could tell, but I found this bag of Dupain-Cheng pastries in my locker later. It was one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me.”

Chat pulled his knees up to his chest, loping his arms around them. “I guess she probably wouldn’t consider _me_ one of her best friends. Probably just one of many. She’s really popular,” he added.

Ladybug choked. “R-really??”

“Oh yeah,” nodded Chat. “Everyone loves her. Well, except for Chloe, but you’ve met her. Marinette just draws people to her. I bet she could date any boy in the school if she wanted.”

“ _What?_ ” yelped Ladybug.

“Don’t worry, my Lady,” smirked Chat. “My heart’s safe with you.”

“Not that, you stupid cat!” Ladybug socked him in the shoulder. “What makes you so convinced she could date anyone?” She _wished_ she could date anyone.

Chat just raised his eyebrows at her. “You mean besides the fact that she’s super nice and talented and just talking to her makes you feel super special? Oh, and there’s the Blue Eyed Look of Doom.”

“The _what?_ ” Were they even talking about the same Marinette? But no, he got the designer right, and he _had_ pointed directly to her house.

Unaware of her internal confusion, Chat just shrugged. “That’s what my friend called it. Marinette’s got these really big blue eyes, and apparently if she hits you with them just right—Welp, that’s it. You’re a goner. She’s just too cute to handle.”

Ladybug’s mind now was just one, unending scream of “ _Whaattt???_ ”

“I can see how it’s so effective,” mused Chat. “Marinette’s already really cute.”

Ladybug was _not_ jealous. It did not make sense for her to be jealous because 1) she did _not_ like Chat and 2) _she_ was Marinette!

“You know, I’m having a hard time believing you’re not jealous here, Bugaboo,” grinned Chat.

“I. Am. _Not_ ,” gritted out Ladybug. She quickly changed the subject. “Are you sure _you_ haven’t fallen for Marinette?”

“Nope. I’m a one Bug Cat.”

“I don’t have a Blue Eyed Look of Doom,” said Ladybug. Though apparently she _did?_ Who on earth was Chat talking to?

Chat just laughed. “Ah, but you have that look you get every time you try to figure out your Lucky Charm. That’s the _true_ Look of Doom, my Lady.”

There was absolutely no reason for her to be blushing right now. There was _not_. She quickly tried to think of some way to change the subject and found herself drawn back to what had started this conversation.

“But you still consider Marinette one of your best friends. Even though you two aren’t close?”

Ladybug immediately wished she hadn’t said anything when she saw Chat deflate. “I mean! You have other friends! Right? Lots of friends!”

“Sort of,” mumbled Chat. “I have a few.”

Ladybug just managed not to gape. “A _few?_ ”

“I’ve got one friend as a civilian!” said Chat quickly. “He’s really the best friend I could ask for. And I’ve got for you.” He smiled at her.

But Ladybug was still reeling. “That’s _it?_ ”

Why couldn’t she stop saying stupid things? She made Chat crumpled in on himself again. What was _wrong_ with her?

“No! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” she cried, trying desperately to fix this. “I just—I thought you would be super popular! You know, because you’re so friendly. And-and nice! And hot—Funny! I meant funny. You would be the best class clown there ever was!”

“I’m not— As Ad—In my civilian life, I’m different,” muttered Chat. “I can’t—Sometimes I feel like being Chat Noir is my only chance to be myself.”

And Ladybug felt just _awful_. Because Chat’s shoulders were coming up to his ears and his head was hanging down and how had she never noticed it before? That Chat was insecure. That Chat was _lonely_. Every attempt to know her secret identity. Every ounce of exaggerated personality. Every request to know her better, to just _spend time_ with her. Had she just _ignored_ it?

She put her hand on his shoulder. “Chat,” she said quietly. “I like who you are.”

He shrugged a little. “I know sometimes I get annoying.”

“I wouldn’t have you any other way,” said Ladybug ferociously. “And I couldn’t ask for a better partner.”

Chat leaned against her hand. “Thanks, Ladybug,” he said quietly.

Ladybug rubbed her thumb against his shoulder, thinking. This could go badly. It could be dangerous. But she couldn’t leave her kitty hurting.

“Chat, will you promise me something?”

He looked up at her, green eyes glowing in the night. “Anything, my Lady.”

“Promise me you’ll…tell Marinette? How you feel about her? A-and anything else you’re, um, feeling?” This wasn’t coming out right. Ladybug closed her eyes and tried again. “I mean, I know her, too, remember? And I just think Marinette would really care about you. She’d like to know that—that you consider her one of your best friends.”

Chat frowned. “I don’t want to burden her.”

“I don’t think Marinette would feel burdened. She’d probably be really flattered!”

“I don’t know,” muttered Chat. “I’m not really popular like her.”

“Do you really think Marinette cares about popularity like that?” demanded Ladybug.

Slowly, Chat smiled. “No. No, I don’t think she cares at all.”

“Then you have nothing to worry about,” said Ladybug flatly. “Talk to her.”

Chat thought for a while before stretching out, a slow smile growing on his face. “Well, if my Lady insists…”

“I do,” said Ladybug.

“Then how can I say no?”

Ladybug watched as the one of the lights in the lower levels of the bakery flickered out. Soon her parents would expect her to be home. She needed her rest. Tomorrow civilian Chat would be approaching her, and if that didn’t fill her stomach with ladybugs… She stood up.

“Going already?” Chat tried to hide the disappointment in his voice, but he hardly succeeded. Maybe because this time she was listening for it.

“My parents will be looking for me soon,” said Ladybug. “Don’t you need to get home?”

“Don’t really want to,” Chat muttered under his breath. But Ladybug heard it. And she sat right back down.

“I guess I can spare a few more minutes,” she said, her voice forced-casual.

The expression on Chat’s face broke her heart, so surprised, so _touched_. His eyes held a question, and she shifted so that he could rest his head on her shoulder, forehead pressing against her neck.

His quiet voice betrayed a sense of timidity. “You’re my best friend, my Lady.”

“You’re my best friend, too, Chat,” she whispered back.

Alya would have to forgive her. Tonight, her kitty needed this.


End file.
